ELAM, Joseph Barton, a Representative from Louisiana;
born near Hope, Hempstead County, Ark., June 12, 1821;
moved with his father to Natchitoches, La., in 1826;
studied law;
was admitted to the bar in 1843 and commenced practice in Alexandria, La.;
moved to the parish of De Soto in 1851;
member and speaker of the State house of representatives 1851-1861;
elected a delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1861 and signed the ordinance of secession;
elected as a Democrat to the Forty-fifth and Forty-sixth Congresses (March 4, 1877-March 3, 1881);
unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1880 to the Forty-seventh Congress;
resumed the practice of law in Mansfield, De Soto Parish, La., where he died July 4, 1885;
interment in Mansfield Cemetery.